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The Masque of the Red Death

THE “RED DEATH” had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal—the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour.

But the Prince Prospero was happy and dauntless and sagacious. When his dominions were half depopulated, he summoned to his presence a thousand hale and light-hearted friends from among the knights and dames of his court, and with these retired to the deep seclusion of one of his castellated abbeys. This was an extensive and magnificent structure, the creation of the prince's own eccentric yet august taste. A strong and lofty wall girdled it in. This wall had gates of iron. The courtiers, having entered, brought furnaces and massy hammers and welded the bolts. They resolved to leave means neither of ingress or egress to the sudden impulses of despair or of frenzy from within. The abbey was amply provisioned. With such precautions the courtiers might bid defiance to contagion. The external world could take care of itself. In the meantime it was folly to grieve, or to think. The prince had provided all the appliances of pleasure. There were buffoons, there were improvisatori, there were ballet-dancers, there were musicians, there was Beauty, there was wine. All these and security were within. Without was the “Red Death.”

It was toward the close of the fifth or sixth month of his seclusion, and while the pestilence raged most furiously abroad, that the Prince Prospero entertained his thousand friends at a masked ball of the most unusual magnificence.

It was a voluptuous scene, that masquerade. But first let me tell of the rooms in which it was held. There were seven—an imperial suite. In many palaces, however, such suites form a long and straight vista, while the folding doors slide back nearly to the walls on either hand, so that the view of the whole extent is scarcely impeded. Here the case was very different; as might have been expected from the duke's love of the bizarre. The apartments were so irregularly disposed that the vision embraced but little more than one at a time. There was a sharp turn at every twenty or thirty yards, and at each turn a novel effect. To the right and left, in the middle of each wall, a tall and narrow Gothic window looked out upon a closed corridor which pursued the windings of the suite. These windows were of stained glass whose color varied in accordance with the prevailing hue of the decorations of the chamber into which it opened. That at the eastern extremity was hung, for example, in blue—and vividly blue were its windows. The second chamber was purple in its ornaments and tapestries, and here the panes were purple. The third was green throughout, and so were the casements. The fourth was furnished and lighted with orange—the fifth with white—the sixth with violet. The seventh apartment was closely shrouded in black velvet tapestries that hung all over the ceiling and down the walls, falling in heavy folds upon a carpet of the same material and hue. But in this chamber only, the color of the windows failed to correspond with the decorations. The panes here were scarlet—a deep blood color. Now in no one of the seven apartments was there any lamp or candelabrum, amid the profusion of golden ornaments that lay scattered to and fro or depended from the roof. There was no light of any kind emanating from lamp or candle within the suite of chambers. But in the corridors that followed the suite, there stood, opposite to each window, a heavy tripod, bearing a brazier of fire that protected its rays through the tinted glass and so glaringly illumined the room. And thus were produced a multitude of gaudy and fantastic appearances. But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.

It was in this apartment, also, that there stood against the western wall, a gigantic clock of ebony. Its pendulum swung to and fro with a dull, heavy, monotonous clang; and when the minute-hand made the circuit of the face, and the hour was to be stricken, there came from the brazen lungs of the clock a sound which was clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical, but of so peculiar a note and emphasis that, at each lapse of an hour, the musicians of the orchestra were constrained to pause, momentarily, in their performance, to hearken to the sound; and thus the waltzers perforce ceased their evolutions; and there was a brief disconcert of the whole gay company; and, while the chimes of the clock yet rang, it was observed that the giddiest grew pale, and the more aged and sedate passed their hands over their brows as if in confused reverie or meditation. But when the echoes had fully ceased, a light laughter at once pervaded the assembly; the musicians looked at each other and smiled as if at their own nervousness and folly, and made whispering vows, each to the other, that the next chiming of the clock should produce in them no similar emotion; and then, after the lapse of sixty minutes, (which embrace three thousand and six hundred seconds of the Time that flies,) there came yet another chiming of the clock, and then were the same disconcert and tremulousness and meditation as before.

But, in spite of these things, it was a gay and magnificent revel. The tastes of the duke were peculiar. He had a fine eye for colors and effects. He disregarded the decora of mere fashion. His plans were bold and fiery, and his conceptions glowed with barbaric lustre. There are some who would have thought him mad. His followers felt that he was not. It was necessary to hear and see and touch him to be sure that he was not.

He had directed, in great part, the moveable embellishments of the seven chambers, upon occasion of this great fete; and it was his own guiding taste which had given character to the masqueraders. Be sure they were grotesque. There were much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm—much of what has been since seen in “Hernani.” There were arabesque figures with unsuited limbs and appointments. There were delirious fancies such as the madman fashions. There was much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust. To and fro in the seven chambers there stalked, in fact, a multitude of dreams. And these—the dreams—writhed in and about, taking hue from the rooms, and causing the wild music of the orchestra to seem as the echo of their steps. And, anon, there strikes the ebony clock which stands in the hall of the velvet. And then, for a moment, all is still, and all is silent save the voice of the clock. The dreams are stiff-frozen as they stand. But the echoes of the chime die away—they have endured but an instant—and a light, half-subdued laughter floats after them as they depart. And now again the music swells, and the dreams live, and writhe to and fro more merrily than ever, taking hue from the many-tinted windows through which stream the rays from the tripods. But to the chamber which lies most westwardly of the seven, there are now none of the maskers who venture; for the night is waning away; and there flows a ruddier light through the blood-colored panes; and the blackness of the sable drapery appals; and to him whose foot falls upon the sable carpet, there comes from the near clock of ebony a muffled peal more solemnly emphatic than any which reaches their ears who indulge in the more remote gaieties of the other apartments.

But these other apartments were densely crowded, and in them beat feverishly the heart of life. And the revel went whirlingly on, until at length there commenced the sounding of midnight upon the clock. And then the music ceased, as I have told; and the evolutions of the waltzers were quieted; and there was an uneasy cessation of all things as before. But now there were twelve strokes to be sounded by the bell of the clock; and thus it happened, perhaps, that more of thought crept, with more of time, into the meditations of the thoughtful among those who revelled. And thus, too, it happened, perhaps, that before the last echoes of the last chime had utterly sunk into silence, there were many individuals in the crowd who had found leisure to become aware of the presence of a masked figure which had arrested the attention of no single individual before. And the rumor of this new presence having spread itself whisperingly around, there arose at length from the whole company a buzz, or murmur, expressive of disapprobation and surprise—then, finally, of terror, of horror, and of disgust.

In an assembly of phantasms such as I have painted, it may well be supposed that no ordinary appearance could have excited such sensation. In truth the masquerade license of the night was nearly unlimited; but the figure in question had out-Heroded Herod, and gone beyond the bounds of even the prince's indefinite decorum. There are chords in the hearts of the most reckless which cannot be touched without emotion. Even with the utterly lost, to whom life and death are equally jests, there are matters of which no jest can be made. The whole company, indeed, seemed now deeply to feel that in the costume and bearing of the stranger neither wit nor propriety existed. The figure was tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask which concealed the visage was made so nearly to resemble the countenance of a stiffened corpse that the closest scrutiny must have had difficulty in detecting the cheat. And yet all this might have been endured, if not approved, by the mad revellers around. But the mummer had gone so far as to assume the type of the Red Death. His vesture was dabbled in blood—and his broad brow, with all the features of the face, was besprinkled with the scarlet horror.

When the eyes of Prince Prospero fell upon this spectral image (which with a slow and solemn movement, as if more fully to sustain its role, stalked to and fro among the waltzers) he was seen to be convulsed, in the first moment with a strong shudder either of terror or distaste; but, in the next, his brow reddened with rage.

“Who dares?” he demanded hoarsely of the courtiers who stood near him—“who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery? Seize him and unmask him—that we may know whom we have to hang at sunrise, from the battlements!”

It was in the eastern or blue chamber in which stood the Prince Prospero as he uttered these words. They rang throughout the seven rooms loudly and clearly—for the prince was a bold and robust man, and the music had become hushed at the waving of his hand.

It was in the blue room where stood the prince, with a group of pale courtiers by his side. At first, as he spoke, there was a slight rushing movement of this group in the direction of the intruder, who at the moment was also near at hand, and now, with deliberate and stately step, made closer approach to the speaker. But from a certain nameless awe with which the mad assumptions of the mummer had inspired the whole party, there were found none who put forth hand to seize him; so that, unimpeded, he passed within a yard of the prince's person; and, while the vast assembly, as if with one impulse, shrank from the centres of the rooms to the walls, he made his way uninterruptedly, but with the same solemn and measured step which had distinguished him from the first, through the blue chamber to the purple—through the purple to the green—through the green to the orange—through this again to the white—and even thence to the violet, ere a decided movement had been made to arrest him. It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer. There was a sharp cry—and the dagger dropped gleaming upon the sable carpet, upon which, instantly afterwards, fell prostrate in death the Prince Prospero. Then, summoning the wild courage of despair, a throng of the revellers at once threw themselves into the black apartment, and, seizing the mummer, whose tall figure stood erect and motionless within the shadow of the ebony clock, gasped in unutterable horror at finding the grave-cerements and corpse-like mask which they handled with so violent a rudeness, untenanted by any tangible form.

And now was acknowledged the presence of the Red Death. He had come like a thief in the night. And one by one dropped the revellers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel, and died each in the despairing posture of his fall. And the life of the ebony clock went out with that of the last of the gay. And the flames of the tripods expired. And Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.

Footnotes

In Christian trinitarian doctrine, the spirit of God is split into three distinct but interconnected vessels: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is the creator of the universe, the Son is embodied by Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwells in the faithful. In “The Masque of the Red Death,” the clock, the masked figure, and blood serve as an unholy trinity, representative of death rather than salvation. The clock is time, the indomitable presence that establishes the confines of reality and the inevitability of death. The masked figure is the dark judge who brings death to Prospero and his friends. Blood, established as an enemy from the start, is the source of the pestilence that led to Prospero’s arrogance and eventual downfall. Once the last of the masqueraders has died, the trinity dissolves, with the masked figure's proving intangible, the clock's ceasing to tick, and the blood's splattering the walls.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The final line of the story highlights the foolishness of Prospero and his friends in attempting to escape the Red Death. To hold “illimitable dominion” means to have unlimited or absolute control over something. Prospero and his friends had no chance of escaping death, no matter how hard they tried to fool themselves. The final line also completes the unity of impression that Poe strove for in all of his stories, ending on the same idea that it opened with when describing the swift and gruesome end met by those who contracted the disease.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The verb “bedewed” means to sprinkle something with drops of liquid. For the walls to be “blood bedewed” means that they are spattered with drops of blood. The visual image of blood-speckled halls recalls the symptoms of the Red Death described in the opening lines, where the “scarlet stains” marked the pores and faces of the infected. For the blood to have transferred to the “halls” speaks to the massive scale and violent nature of the deaths of Prospero’s friends.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The biblical book of 1 Thessalonians 5:2 reads: “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 focus on the preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the prophesized apocalypse where all souls will be judged for their sins. By using the phrase “thief in the night,” the narrator casts the coming of the Red Death as both biblical and apocalyptic. Biblical theology states that the Second Coming will be preceded by the arrival of the antichrist and humanity's descent into sin. This allusion offers an interpretation of the story as an apocalyptic event in which Prospero has led his people to sin and folly and the Red Death has arrived to deliver its gruesome judgement.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The description of the masked figure as “spectral” proves literal as Prospero’s friends unmask him only to find that there is no tangible form beneath the costume. This revelation can be read several ways: On a purely allegorical reading, the masked figure represents death itself. It can also be read more literally, with the disease entering by intangible means, like air or a delayed outbreak. Another interpretation is that the disease represents immorality and corruption, meaning that no external source can be blamed since the disease came from within Prospero and his friends. By this final reading, their own corruption eventually dissolves their insulated society, resulting in a violent overthrow of Prospero.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The symbolic significance of the clock and the black room is made explicit as the black room becomes the site of death for Prospero and his friends. The clock heralded the arrival of the masked figure, and the black room became its destination. The masked figure—death—stands in the shadow of the clock, emphasizing that the clock is the driving force behind mortality.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

After watching Prospero drop dead, his friends are seized by the “wild courage of despair.” Rather than fleeing or attempting to ignore the masked figure, they rush the black room, trying futilely to avenge Prospero’s death and remove the intrusive presence. This course of action highlights Prospero’s role as the architect of the daydream. Now that he is dead, his friends cannot maintain the illusion and instead give into the “wild impulses of despair” that Prospero’s leadership staved off.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The word “prostrate” refers to the state of lying facedown on the ground, particularly in reverence or submission to a deity or person of higher rank. The visual image evoked here is that of Prospero lying face-down at the feet of the masked figure, who “turned suddenly and confronted [Prospero].” By falling “prostrate,” Prospero has been forced to submit to death both literally and figuratively.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Notice that the masked figure moves from the blue chamber to the black chamber. If the different rooms represent the process of aging, then the masked figure moves towards death. The intentionality of the figure’s “solemn and measured step” evokes images of a procession or ceremony, specifically a funeral. Poe employs anaphora, repeating the word “through” at the beginning of each phrase as the figure walks through each room. This builds suspense and mimics the way the masqueraders watch him progress, elongating the journey as he makes his way towards the final room.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “blasphemous” refers to something that is profane and violates religious doctrine, specifically Christian. For Prospero to call the costume a “blasphemous mockery” is hypocritical, considering the biblical verse in Hebrews 9:27: “and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” In Christian theology, all mortal things must die in order to obtain salvation in the afterlife. By defying death, Prospero proves himself the true blasphemer. Notice the additional hypocrisy in that the punishment for dressing up as the Red Death is a death sentence. Prospero is willing to condemn someone else to the fate he seeks to defy for daring to confront him with the reality of the Red Death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Up to this point, the color red has been associated with death and disease. If readers maintain this association, Prospero’s face “redden[ing] with rage” can be interpreted in multiple ways. Recall that one of the symptoms of the red death is “profuse bleeding at the pores.” Though possible that Prospero’s anger has caused his face to flush, there is still an echo of the description of facial bleeding from the introduction of the disease. By another reading, Prospero’s own murderous thoughts have led his face to take on the color of death. He calls for the hanging of the figure and later rushes him with a dagger, indicating Prospero’s own deadly nature.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “spectral” refers to something that is ghostlike or incorporeal. Rather than the more figurative description of Prospero and his friends as “phantasms,” the masked figure seems to be more literally spectral in nature as it acts out its gruesome costume. The audacious nature of its costume and its sudden appearance at the masquerade combine to make it a seemingly inhuman and supernatural entity.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “mummer” refers to an actor, typically amateur, who performed in masked plays or pantomimes. Mummers often performed for the poor in exchange for food or drink, especially around the holidays. Though masquerades were more for the nobility and mummers plays were more for the common people, the concepts stem from the shared desire to escape social conventions by acting out a different persona. The masked figure is likely referred to as a “mummer” because it is silent and because it appears to be acting out its costume. It may also be a way of degrading the figure for its poor taste.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Earlier in the story, the narrator refused to condemn Prospero as a madman. However, after the appearance of the masked figure, all of the revelers become “mad.” Now that they have been confronted by what they sought to escape from, their foolishness has become apparent. Rather than confronting mortality, they secluded themselves away and surrounded themselves with distractions, becoming mad in their denial.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “habiliment” means clothing, specifically clothes worn as part of a uniform or for a specific occasion. The “habiliments of the grave” refer to the clothes or the shroud that a corpse was buried in. To be “gaunt” is to be lean and grim in appearance, often in reference to someone who is ill. This description of the masked figure evokes a visual image of the Grim Reaper, often depicted as a skeleton or corpse shrouded in the “habiliments of the grave.” The “terror, horror, and disgust” that the figure has inspired in the masqueraders stems from the fact that it is a physical embodiment, an avatar, of what they sought to avoid: the Red Death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Prospero’s sense of style verges on the macabre and his friends are “grotesque” phantasms, distracting themselves from their own mortality by treating everything as a joke. However, even amongst the hedonistic revelers, the masked figure has gone too far. The figure has tread on territory that even the most callous of people could not remain indifferent to. In doing so, the otherwise carefree revelers have been forced to situate themselves within a moral framework that they have otherwise neglected by abandoning the common people.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

This phrase is taken directly from act III, scene II of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where Prince Hamlet instructs a group of actors. Herod was the king of Judea who plotted to kill the infant Jesus Christ. It was prophesied that Jesus Christ would become the king of the Jewish people, overthrowing Herod. This led to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered the death of every child under the age of two in Bethlehem. The phrase “Out-Heroded Herod” refers to exaggerated portrayals of evil characters in stage performances. For the masked figure to out-Herod Herod means that the costume is so ghastly that it makes the grotesque excess of the rest of the attendees seem tame by comparison.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Horror writer Stephen King, who cites Poe as a major influence, describes the three levels of horror storytelling as disgust, horror, and terror. Disgust is the reaction to something shocking or gory, such as a blood splattered corpse. Horror is the reaction to something perceived as unnatural, like a reanimated corpse. Terror is the highest level of fear. Terror is the result of the imagination being put in conflict with reality, where people must decide whether to trust their own senses or not. The masked figure represents all of these levels for Prospero and his friends, instilling in them the sense of terror that Poe hoped to instill in his readers by playing on their fear and denial of the Red Death.

Since “The Masque of the Red Death” serves as an allegory about the foolishness of trying to avoid death, the clock's striking midnight is what ultimately forces Prospero and his friends to recognize its presence. Death is no longer a vague threat from outside but has instead materialized as a guest at the party. Notice how the masked figure has not just arrived; it has simply gone unnoticed until now. The implication is that the guest—death—has been present the entire time, just unnoticed or willfully ignored. The escape that Prospero and his friends thought they achieved was an illusion.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adverb “feverishly” refers to something done in a wildly energetic manner. For a heart to beat feverishly implies that the heart rate is accelerated. An accelerated heart rate is often associated with fear or exertion, and the exertion of maintaining the illusion of gaiety provides a potential cause. If one views life and death as continuities of one another, then “the heart of life” has been fighting against itself by refusing death. Rather than beating strongly and healthily, it is overworked and “feverish,” indicating that denial and fear have taken a toll on Prospero and his friends.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Time's prominent presence creates a sense of mystery regarding what the passage of time is building towards. This line foreshadows that revelation as it specifies that the masquerade is happening at night and that the “night is waning away,” establishing the destination as midnight, which marks the end of one day and the beginning of the next. The ticking of the clock transforms from a general reminder into a countdown.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

“Dreams” refer to either thoughts and images that occur during sleep or to cherished ideals or ambitions. The “dreams” at the masquerade occupy both definitions. By one reading, they represent Prospero's desire to escape death. By another, Prospero and his friends are living in a daydream, imagining themselves as separate from the realities of death and decay.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

In act IV, scene I of The Tempest, Prospero stages a play using spirits conjured with magic. As the play ends and the reality of Caliban’s plot to murder him resurfaces in his mind, Prospero says, “Our revels now are ended. These our actors, / As I foretold you, were all spirits, and / Are melted into air, into thin air.” In “The Masque of the Red Death,” the illusion of safety steadily unravels. The “dreams” stalking around the masquerade are the “hale and lighthearted friends” that Prospero conscripted to join his fantasy. Much like the actors in The Tempest were dispelled when reality set in, so too do these “dreams” dissipate when Prospero’s illusion breaks.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

“Hernani” is an 1830 drama by Victor Hugo, a contemporary of Poe. It is known for its elaborate stage productions, which polarized critics with regards to whether it was excessive or spectacular. Poe appreciated the play and uses this allusion to refer to the magnitude and extravagance of Prospero’s masked ball. The final scenes of Hernani and “The Masque of the Red Death” are similar in that they both take place at an extravagant ball and are concerned with the intrusion of a masked stranger.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “phantasm” refers to an apparition, ghost, illusion, or sensory deception. In this case, these meanings enhance the dream-like quality of the masquerade. Reading phantasm as ghost implies that the masqueraders are not grounded in reality but are instead caught in limbo between the reality of death and their desire to escape it. By reading phantasm as illusion, the entire masquerade becomes a farce. The illusion is twofold: the revelers are projecting the illusion of gaiety despite their fear, and the masquerade itself is an illusion conjured by Prospero to combat the reality of death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “piquancy” refers to the quality of being pleasantly stimulating or intriguing. For wealthy people in the 18th and 19th centuries, masquerades were piquant because they provided the opportunity to escape the rigid social conventions of the nobility. For Prospero and his friends, morbid or scandalous costumes, lavish decorations, and a night of drinking and revelry would have helped stave off the “impulses of despair and frenzy” that the gates of the castle were sealed to prevent.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “grotesque” typically refers to something that is repulsive or ugly. It can also refer to something that is shockingly excessive or inappropriate, such as a grotesque display of wealth. Building off of the “barbaric lustre” of Prospero’s artistic vision, the costumes and masks worn by his friends are similarly grotesque. Traditional 19th-century masquerades were events of excess, full of drinking, gambling, and sex. Creativity and wit were highly encouraged when it came to designing the opulent costumes. Both of the meanings of grotesque likely come into play when describing this scene; the costumes were both lavish and designed to evoke controversial reactions.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Prospero refuses to give a definitive answer regarding whether or not he is mad. That his followers do not believe he is mad means little considering they are also caught in the collective escapist daydream. This marks the transition from discussing the masquerade as an event grounded in some semblance of reality to an event grounded in dreams. By indicating that Prospero’s madness can only be judged through direct sensory perception, the corporeal body is given a nebulous quality and divorced from the physical realm. For Prospero’s followers, caught between the reality of the Red Death and their fabricated safehaven, Prospero cannot mad because if he were, they would be too.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The phrase “barbaric lustre” contains a contradiction. The noun “lustre” refers to a soft glow and suggests a sense of sophistication. By contrast, the adjective “barbaric” refers to something harsh and unrefined. For Prospero’s designs to glow with “barbaric lustre” means that they have an aggressive and uncultured appeal. This description is consistent with Prospero’s colorful rooms, which produce a variety of “gaudy and fantastic” images. It also further situates him as someone who has artistic vision and also as someone who is at least somewhat mad.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

“The Masque of the Red Death” oscillates between descriptions of unease and descriptions of revelry. The more extravagant descriptions of parties and decorations emphasize the terror and tension that underlies the festivities. Readers already know that the “gay and magnificent revel” is a facade meant to provide a distraction from the clock and the Red Death. The title of the story foreshadows that the Red Death will make its appearance at the “masque.” Narrative tension builds to the inevitable appearance of the Red Death; it is only a matter of when it will arrive.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

By dividing each hour into seconds, Poe highlights Prospero and his friends’ heightened awareness of the passage of time. There is no more of the willful ignorance that allows them to lose track of how long they’ve been in the castle. Now, every action is overseen by the clock and every second is measured by how much closer it places them to death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

After the clock chimes each hour, Prospero and his friends attempt to laugh off their unease, promising not to react the same way the next time. However, rather than living up to their oaths, they continue to be disconcerted by time's intrusion into their revels. The party has come under the control of the clock, starting and stopping each hour as the passage of time asserts its presence, shattering the illusion each time. The “light laughter” is a futile attempt to retain the sense of timelessness and immortality that Prospero and his companions seek.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

A “reverie” is a daydream, typically a pleasant one removed from the stresses of reality. Prospero’s castle, with its willful ignorance of the outside world, is like a daydream. Prospero and his companions can pretend that death does not exist and instead enjoy the luxuries of their health and riches. The clock intrudes on their collective “reverie,” a physical testament to time’s passage and the encroachment of death. The “more aged and sedate” masqueraders likely feel the impact of the passage of time more strongly than the young and lively, thus their confusion as the reality of time’s passage collides with the daydream that Prospero has created.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The auditory imagery in this passage describes the sound from the clock and the cessation of all other sounds. The masquerade is a lively event, with musicians, dancing, and conversation. However, whenever the “brazen lungs” of the clock let out their “clear and loud and deep and exceedingly musical” note, everything else stops. The repetition of “and” in the description of the clock chime emphasizes the oppressive nature of the sound. It also adds a musical feel to the prose and extends the description across the page, mimicking the way the masqueraders perceive the rhythmic echo of the sound.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

In Shakespeare’s sonnet sequence, Sonnet 12 conflates Time with the grim reaper: “and nothing 'gainst Time's scythe can make defence…” That the clock is located in the black room establishes a relationship between death and the passage of time, increasing the unease of Prospero and his friends. Every tick of the clock is a reminder that they are one step closer to death. As a result, the masquerade transforms into a tense and nervous scene as the looming presence of death intrudes on Prospero’s fabricated reality.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The verb “to shroud” means to cover or envelop something. It is most commonly used to refer to the act of wrapping a corpse for burial. The visual imagery in the description of the black room is heavy and oppressive, with phrases like “shrouded” and “falling in heavy folds” adding a sense of weight. Furthermore, the carpet and the ceiling being the same color gives the sense of darkness enclosing all sides. Overall, the visual imagery evokes the idea of being buried in a coffin, which were often lined with dark fabrics.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The presence of the black room suggests the inevitability of death, but the inclusion of the “blood red” window panels serves as a reminder that death is not divorced from life, but rather a natural part of it. Blood, which is the “Avatar and seal” of the Red Death, is a vital component of life. No amount of walls or iron gates can protect people from their own bodies. Though “The Masque of the Red Death” casts death as gruesome and villainous, it also highlights the foolishness of those who try to escape it.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The rooms are ordered from east to west, matching the sun's path across the sky, beginning with blue and ending with black. The course of a day is a common metaphor for the transience of life. The color blue, associated with the sky, can represent vitality and the start of a new day. Black is commonly associated with death and night. The ordering of the rooms can be read as a metaphor for the stages of life, with blue representing birth and black representing death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Notice that the description of the windows has them facing inside the castle, not outside. Poe’s Prospero does not have magic like Shakespeare’s Prospero, so he cannot alter reality in a literal sense. In order to maintain the illusion of separation, Prospero has crafted his castle so that the world outside cannot intrude on the world inside. The windows are also made of stained glass, and the light allowed through the windows takes on the color of the glass, while obscuring what is on the other side. The lack of visibility prevents the companions from looking too closely at their situation, instead losing themselves in the “voluptuous scene” crafted by Prospero.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “novel” refers to something that is new or interesting. In such an insulated community, novelty would likely be hard to come by. Prospero designs the party in such a way that there are new, distracting novelties at every turn, keeping his companions lighthearted and happy. This display of creativity speaks to Prospero’s artistic sensibility and “august taste” as he creates an interactive art installation designed to capture the imaginations of his guests.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “voluptuous” means that something is characterized by luxury and decadence. Masquerades in 17th-century Europe were characterized by escapism; the costumes were a way of altering one’s reality. Things like gender, sexuality, and class were blurred by luxury and anonymity. For Prospero and his friends, the masquerade is yet another way to stave off the reality of death. Rather than dwell on mortality, they can indulge in opulent festivities and shirk off their humanity by putting on masks.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

A masked ball, or masquerade, is a party where guests wear costumes and masks as a part of the festivities. Masks have a variety of connotations with deceit and concealment since they cover the face, preventing others from discerning one’s identity or emotions. Attendees of masquerades often used the anonymity provided by their masks to express risky political opinions or behave inappropriately. This abandonment of identity and license to act without consequence was used as a form of escapism by the upper classes. Masks were also famously worn by 17th-century French and Italian plague doctors, who stuffed the beak-like protrusions of their uniform masks with herbs and medicines in the hopes of staving off the diseases they were treating.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The time jump, which moves the story ahead by “five or six month[s],” approaches the matter of how much time has passed with a degree of imprecision not seen elsewhere. Time governs the progression of the disease and the patterns of the “masked ball,” so the inexact nature of a description like “the fifth or six month” stands out. Prior to entering to castle, mortality and the marking off of each half hour were at the forefront of the public consciousness. However, now that Prospero and his friends have sealed themselves away, the illusion of immunity from the plague has taken hold and they are no longer as diligent about tracking time.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The contrast between “within” and “without” in these two sentences emphasizes the disparity between the disease-ravaged world and Prospero's insulated retreat. The “within” and the “without” represent two different realities, one of nature’s making and the other of Prospero’s making. In a sense, Prospero and his friends have created an entirely different reality within the castle, one that seeks to reject death and suffering in favor of a facade of safety.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

“Improvisatori” were improvisational poets popular in 14th-century Italy, providing a possible setting for the story. The buffoons, dancers, musicians, and improvisatori represent the luxury that Prospero and his friends enjoy as well as their need to be distracted from mortality with earthly pleasures. Wine and other forms of alcohol are frequently depicted as instruments of distraction in literature, capable of silencing lingering worries or fears. The decadence of Prospero’s castle is made possible by wealth and privilege, but the need for such extravagance appears to be born from fear and the need to forget, even if only momentarily, that the Red Death rages on outside.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

To “leave means neither of ingress or egress” means to leave no way to enter or exit. During historical plagues, the practice of separating the sick or potentially contaminated from the healthy became a common precaution. This practice, called "quarantining," is meant to reduce the spread of disease. Note that rather than quarantining those already suffering from the Red Death, Prospero and his friends lock themselves away. In attempting to avoid becoming sick, Prospero and his friends treat themselves just like historical plague victims. This also furthers the metaphor around the moral “pestilence” of privilege, which needs to be quarantined away from the rest of society.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

In describing the symptoms of the Red Death's victims, the narrator states that they serve as "the pest ban." The term "pest" here is likely a shortening of "pestilence," or "disease," and "ban" refers to a prohibition. In effect, the narrator says that the symptoms of the Red Death are so obvious that anyone can see the affected and keep their distance.

— Wesley, Owl Eyes Editor

The most common element on Earth, iron is a frequent symbol of vitality and protection in folklore. When humans discovered that iron could be extracted from veins in the ground, it became a symbol for the lifeforce of the earth. It is considered the most human metal and is thought to be able to repel ghosts and other supernatural entities. Most graveyards are built with iron gates in order to prevent the spirits of the dead from getting out, providing a sense of separation between the living and the dead. Prospero and his friends built the gate to keep death out, but now they are the ones who are fenced in.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “august” means respected or impressive and is derived from the Latin augustus, which means "venerated." This once obscure term became well known in 27 BCE when Julius Caesar’s adopted son Octavius adopted the title, becoming the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus unified the Roman government under his own rule and left a lasting legacy of peace and prosperity. His rule was viewed as blessed and he was deified after his death, symbolically defying mortality to join the pantheon of immortal gods. For Prospero to have “august” taste indicates that he is respected by his people, despite his eccentricity.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “castellated” refers to a structure with battlements, or slots that arrows can be shot through. A “castellated abbey” conjures images of a fortress, an idea reinforced by the inclusion of the guard walls and gates. Superficially, the fortress is designed to keep the plague out. However, no amount of arrows can defend against a disease, indicating that perhaps the fortress also acts as a barrier between the wealthy courtiers and the less privileged masses seeking refuge. This emphasis on class division highlights the arrogance of Prospero and his friends, who believe that they can use wealth to protect themselves from the Red Death.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Poe is considered one of the defining influences on Gothic literature, and “The Masque of the Red Death” blends traditional tropes and Poe’s own style to establish an unmistakably Gothic setting. Of particular note is the secluded nature of the abbey and the decision to lock the castle from the inside. The idea of being trapped or surrounded creates a sense of isolation and claustrophobia, a concept also explored in Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Cask of Amontillado”. Though they locked themselves away to avoid the plague, Prospero and his friends have also trapped themselves with no way to escape should anything go wrong.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Though the narrative shifts away from its focus on the Red Death in favor of recounting Prospero’s attempts to circumvent it, symbols and reminders of death permeate the entire story. “The Masque of the Red Death” has been read as an allegory for the inescapability of death and the foolishness of trying to avoid it. This is foreshadowed in the title and the opening of the story, both of which emphasize the Red Death itself rather than Prospero. Though Prospero and his friends provide the action for the story, readers are told from the beginning that the Red Death is the true subject.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The adjective “dauntless” means fearless, and the adjective “sagacious” means to be wise or have good judgement. The introduction of Prince Prospero shifts the tone of the story away from the hopelessness and fear of the introduction. Rather than give up, Prince Prospero takes action: he secludes himself and his wealthy friends inside a castle, leaving the rest of the world to fend for itself. This action suggests that Prospero seeks to protect only those whom he prefers and that he uses his wealth and status to avoid the same fate as the less privileged.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The name “Prospero” is derived from the adjective “prosperous,” meaning successful and wealthy. Prince Prospero is introduced as “happy,” somehow remaining optimistic in the face of the plague. Prospero is also the name of a character in Shakespeare’s 1610 play, The Tempest. Both are figured as artists with the ability to reshape reality, with Shakespeare’s Prospero wielding magic to shape his surroundings, and Poe’s Prospero using his wealth to create a privileged refuge from the horrors of the plague. Additionally, they are both portrayed as arrogant, viewing themselves as invulnerable and using their power and wealth to shield themselves from consequences or undesirable realities.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Time, specifically the passing of it, plays a significant role in building the tension in “The Masque of the Red Death.” In emphasizing that it only takes “half an hour” for the disease to run its course, the hopelessness of combatting it becomes clear: there is no time for doctors or religious rites, just pain before death. The rapid rate at which the disease claims its victims serves to reinforce the inevitability of death and the shortness of life, since everyone in Poe's story knows that their life could be over within a mere half an hour.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

In describing the symptoms of the Red Death, the narrator blends kinesthetic and visual imagery to emphasize the disease's gruesome nature. The “sharp pains” and “dizziness” appeal to readers’ awareness of their own bodies, and the “profuse bleeding at the pores” and the “dissolution,” or decomposition, of the skin paints a stark visual image. Combined with the emphasis on the horrific “redness” of the blood, the body is further estranged as a source of pain, dying and rotting even as those with the disease are still, briefly, alive.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

In addition to its more literal definition, “blood” can refer to the idea of family bloodlines. The idea of a “pestilence” transmitted through bloodlines becomes a potential criticism of the moral failings of the nobility, who tend to emphasize the importance of family lines and perpetuate classism.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Outside of his career as a poet and short story writer, Edgar Allan Poe was also a literary critic. In 1846, he wrote an essay titled “The Philosophy of Composition” in which he details his writing process. According to Poe, in order to create a good story, an author should strive for a “unity of impression” where the diction, imagery, and themes of a story all work towards a central purpose. In the case of “The Masque of the Red Death,” that purpose is evoking horror.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

On top of building the visual landscape of the “The Masque of the Red Death,” Poe includes color for symbolic purposes. The title and introduction directly associate “redness” with death and disease. Historically speaking, red is either the color of power and vitality or the color of fear and danger. Its associations with blood are likely what leads to this conflict, since blood is associated with both life and death. Though the narrator primarily uses red to represent death, its associations with blood and vitality serve to remind readers that life and death are irrevocably connected.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “Avatar” refers to the physical manifestation of something, often an idea or deity. The Red Death manifests in and uses the blood to “seal” itself to the body. The result is that blood, despite being natural and vital to life, becomes a source of fear. This description serves to estrange the physical body by casting it as an uncontrollable source of anxiety rather than a comfortable constant, enhancing the horror elements of the story.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

The noun “pestilence” typically refers to a fatal epidemic or plague, but it can also refer to corruption and moral decay. By the former definition, the Red Death is presented as a gruesome and deadly disease, eclipsing the worst plagues in history with its destructive power. However, the latter definition provides a different potential reading of the story: the “pestilence” is not only the disease but also the moral climate of the unspecified country.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Poe’s gruesome “Red Death” could be based on tuberculosis, commonly called "consumption" in the 19th century. Tuberculosis typically affects the lungs, leading sufferers to cough up blood. Poe’s wife, Virginia, contracted tuberculosis in January, 1842, the same year that “The Masque of the Red Death” was published. Poe also lost several other family members to tuberculosis. The “Red Death” also may be meant to recall the 1347 outbreak of the bubonic plague across Europe and Asia, commonly referred to as the “Black Death.” The devastation wrought by the bubonic plague and the resulting existential anxiety it inspired brought mortality to the forefront of medieval literary thought.

— Marissa, Owl Eyes Staff

Symbolically, light equates to life and darkness equates to death. Thus, the "expired" flames are a metaphor for the absence of life due to the Red Death. That final, dramatic line of the short story voices its theme nearly explicitly: "...Darkness and Decay and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all." From the grotesque description of the Red Death's effects on the human body to the massacre at the masque, it is clear that death befalls all. Under even ostensibly joyous occasions as a masque, death cannot be escaped or ignored.

— Cassie Garza

Once again, the ebony clock's symbolic nature comes into play to put into words one such emotion and idea that no other object could. The reader has no trouble imagining this grandiose ebony clock whose chiming can be heard through all seven chambers; its toll and perpetual grinding of gears characterize its "life," the life that gets drained out of it just as the "revellers" are killed.

— Cassie Garza

The author's description of the "mummer" and its very cadence- a "solemn and measured step"- are reminiscent of the ebony clock. The ephemeral nature of mortality, as alluded to by the clock, may also be interpreted as the inevitability of death, a theme supported by the fact that "none...put forth hand to seize [the mummer]".

— Cassie Garza

Imagery is once again Poe's friend; the reader can easily picture a "tall and gaunt" figure with the "countenance of a stiffened corpse." This description is meant to evoke disgust in the reader. Evidently, this being is a symbol of death as Poe all but spells out that it is the Red Death, another indicator being that it looks exactly like a corpse. Such an obvious symbol supplements the motif of death and human deterioration.

— Cassie Garza

Herod the Great was Roman royalty, known for his great feats of construction and architecture. The allusion to Herod is not altered significantly, if at all, for it is used in reference to "decorum." This allusion helps the author communicate the magnitude of the new masked figure's presence, for it has more of an effect on the crowd than the elaborate party itself.

— Cassie Garza

This selections includes elements of symbolism and imagery that contribute to an overarching disquieting tone. The chamber's location- "most westwardly of the seven"- holds symbolic significance; in primitive cultures as well as in the Christian faith, west represents darkness and death. That tenet is reinforced through imagery as the reader can effectively picture that waning night, the ruddy light in the "blood-colored panes." All of these factors are meant to unsettle the reader or beget some vaguely anxious sentiment, fully realized once the Red Death makes an appearance.

— Cassie Garza

The "gigantic clock of ebony" is symbolic of mortality, a conclusion drawn due to the tone of this particular section of the passage as well the context of the events in the passage. Its "dull, heavy, monotonous clang" cannot be ignored by those in attendance at the masque, a reminder that time marches on and perhaps their time in this life is almost up. The fact that the musicians and "whole gay company" pause, that the "giddiest grew pale," makes for a foreboding tone, which is plausible in the sense that the clock serves as a reminder of their own inevitable deaths.

— Cassie Garza

The word choice of this selection creates a clear picture of the chamber, a setting that bolsters the motif of death. The phrases "blood-tinted panes," "ghastly," and "wild a look" allow the reader to visualize a dark, gloomy room, a room one would naturally avoid as its countenance is less than welcoming. Thus, the use of imagery contributes to the sinister mood of the story.

— Cassie Garza

This particular section of the passage elucidates the contrast of "Beauty," ostensibly represented by Prince Prospero's party, and "the 'Red Death'". That contrast is truly the difference between what is presented and what is reality, the frivolous party being the facade or superficial appearance with death being the reality. Interestingly enough, Poe describes how "security [was] within" the masque; by the end of the story, death itself has thoroughly infiltrated the scene, alluding to the theme that even the most vibrant aspects of life succumb to death.

— Cassie Garza

The author's implementation of descriptive language in one of the first sentences of the passage sets an underlying macabre tone from the short story's beginning, characterized by the negative associations readers make with "sharp pains," "dizziness," and "profuse bleeding." The picture this evokes a sense of deep-seated discomfort in the reader, a response also elicited by the story's own ironic title.

— Cassie Garza

It might be contended that the people inside the abbey were not the least bit unaware of, or indifferent to, the Red Death, but were indulging in all of their pleasure and dissipation in order to keep from thinking about death. Poe seems to be comparing Prince Prospero and his guests with many of us who are alive today. We know we are going to have to die someday, but we don't want to think about it.

In one of Director Ingmar Bergman's "existential" films, Through a Glass Darkly (1961),* *David (Gunnar Bjornstrand), the father of Karin, a girl who has recently been released from a mental hospital and is desperately searching for God, says:

We draw a magic circle around ourself and shut out everything that doesn’t agree with our secret games.

— William Delaney

One of the messages implicit in "The Masque of the Red Death" is that no matter how rich you are or how important you may be, there is no escaping death.